The door closed behind me with a small thud as my body froze in place and my face felt numb. “Good…morning…” I replied softly after regaining my composure. That was all I could come up with to say to him. Why was Reiner standing here in front of my door? “Good morning, Natalia. Are you going to work today?” Reiner asked flatly. Is that another way of asking me why I wasn’t at work yesterday? I took in a deep breath and stood up a little straighter. “Yes, of course. Umm…thank you for waiting for me. Shall we?” I said as I tried to act natural. I didn’t wait for Reiner to say anything in response before walking past him along the hallway that would lead us to the stairs. My mind screamed all the way to the stairs as I wondered why he had to appear in front of my bedroom like that. Honestly, I wasn’t planning on avoiding him or anything. I had work to do, and I was going to do it. Act natural, Natalia. I repeated this to myself with every breath that I took until we got into the
“No, actually, I was wondering…if you want to have lunch together with me?” Reiner asked bluntly. “Lunch…with you?” I repeated questioningly, unable to believe what I had just heard. Reiner is asking me to have lunch with him? Huh? Why? Why this all of a sudden?“Yes, lunch with me,” Reiner repeated with his eyes still on my face. I blinked rapidly as his words started to sink in. Is this really happening? Honestly, if he had asked me to join him for lunch a few days ago, I would have jumped up and cried for joy. However, I wasn’t sure what I should be feeling now. My feelings were completely messed up. I didn’t feel any happiness at all…I just felt uncomfortable and anxious. Pushing my messy thoughts and feelings aside, I decided to concentrate on the facts. It doesn’t matter why he asked me out, a lunch is just lunch. It’s probably not strange for a boss to invite his subordinate to eat lunch with him. Don’t read too much into this, Natalia.“Sure. What would you like to eat? I
It wasn’t the first time that I started thinking of people back home. I knew that I didn’t miss home and that I didn’t want to go back. However, recently, I’ve been thinking of the people back at home more and more. I shook my head a little to shake away my thoughts. Perhaps Reiner’s words telling me to go home was finally getting to my head. “Natalia…” Reiner called my name softly. My chopstick stopped midair in my surprise. I lifted my eyes to look at Reiner. “Hmm? What is it?” I asked curiously. Reiner glanced away as if he was hesitating to say what he had in mind. I cocked my head to the side curiously as I watched him and waited for him to continue. “Actually, never mind…” Reiner said emotionlessly. He continued eating just like nothing had happened. I picked up my teacup and sipped at the warm green tea as I peered at his face over the rim of my teacup. I wondered what he was about to say…Lunch came to an end without us sharing any more conversation. To my relief, lunch
“Thank you for bringing me here. This cake tastes really good,” I said before smiling a little at Reiner in appreciation. “I’m glad that you like it,” he replied. “I really like it,” I said as I looked deeply into his blue eyes. Thank you, Reiner. Time slipped by as we sat there in silence. Some time, I would feel Reiner eyes on me as I continued to eat the cake. Once I had finished, I realized that we’ve had quite an extended lunch in terms of time. “Natalia…” Reine called my name softly. I looked up to find him staring directly at my face. “Yes?” I replied, wondering what he was going to say. “About yesterday, where did you go?” Reiner asked. Was that what had been bothering him? “Nowhere. I just wasn’t feeling so well,” I replied, trying to sound normal. “Really?” he asked as his eyes watched me. “Really. I feel all better now so there’s nothing for you to worry about,” I replied I lied but it was true that soon, there wouldn’t be anything for him to worry
I knew that I shouldn’t poke my nose into his business, but my body moved on my own. Without any sense of decency, I peered out from where I was hiding so that I could see them. The sight of a very tall woman dressed casually in a white tank top with blue jeans with her arm around Reiner’s neck as she pulled him into a close hug wasn’t exactly what I expected to see. “You’re here super early,” Reiner said warmly as he returned her hug and stroked her hair. No one had to tell me so because I already knew. This tall woman with long wavy brown hair, sun-kissed skin and a firm body must be Rachael, Reiner’s fiancée. “I know! I’m not supposed to turn up here until dinner time, but I decided to drop by earlier to see you anyways. Guess luck is on my side. Honestly, I thought that you wouldn’t be home today, but I decided to try my luck anyways,” Rachael said sweetly before smiling up at Reiner. “You could have called,” Reiner replied as he returned her smile. I don’t think I’ve eve
Taking the cab wasn’t bad but it was quite pricey. After a relatively traffic-free ride, I arrived at the bar right on time to help out with pre-opening tasks. Kat and other team members were there to greet me enthusiastically. “How was the move? You should have let me help you…” Kat asked as she stood next to me. I picked up some utensils and began arranging them. Opening time will arrive soon so we had to hurry a bit right now. “Smooth. There’s nothing for you to worry about. I told you that I didn’t have a lot of stuff. Thanks for offering to help though,” I replied before smiling appreciatively at her. “Do you think Charles will turn up today?” Kat asked wistfully. “Do you want to see him?” I asked teasingly. “Of course. I want to see what moves he’ll make on you. Haha!” Kat replied before laughing loudly.My eyes glanced towards the still-closed door of the bar’s entrance as I wondered if Charles would make it tonight. I didn’t know where he went but I hoped that he was alr
“Every mission has its own danger. We’re not paid the way we’re paid to sit back and relax in safety,” Charles stated like it was nothing. “Oh…” I mumbled without bothering to hide my worry and disappointment. “Don’t worry. I hardly do any work myself anymore. I’m more into managing teams and tasking people with missions now. I’m not as young as I used to be…” Charles said with a relaxed smile. I wondered just how old he was. He made it sound like he was so old but from what I could tell, he was probably in his early thirties, and he couldn’t possibly be older than 35. Was that considered very old already in this field of work? “How old are you, Charles?” I asked without thinking. Shit. I cursed myself as the question slipped carelessly out of my mouth. “No…sorry. I didn’t mean to pry…” I quickly apologized. Charles just laughed at me. He seemed to be in a very good mood, and it didn’t seem like anything I said or did would ruin his temper. “It’s ok. I actually like it that yo
Reiner looked up to see his parents already seated at their regular places at the dining table. Rachael greeted them happily and both of them smiled to welcome her. She really does feel like a part of the family, just like the old days. Perhaps nothing here had changed at all and the one who had changed was him. Suddenly, he felt quite out of place in his own home. “You haven’t visited us for a while. I really miss you; you know?” Queen said before smiling her pretty smile at Rachael. “Sorry about that. I was away on a trip with some friends and so I just got back,” Rachael replied. “I see. Well, why don’t we eat first before we chat. I’m sure that you’re already hungry,” Queen suggested as she gestured with her hand to the bunch of dishes prepared and laid out on the dining table. “Thank you…” Rachael replied. Reiner watched the whole conversation unfold without feeling any sense of engagement. As far as he was aware, he wasn’t needed here, and he couldn’t wait for this dinn